Wire terminal connector



Sept. 4, 1956 e. B. BENANDER ETAL 2,

WIRE TERMINAL CONNECTOR Filed Aug. 30, 1954 fm/norsx George B. Benaha en Kenneth CJo/mson,

{29 W4. find/@704 7/7e/}- Attorngg United States Parent D WIRE TERMINALCONNECTOR George B. Benander, Oaklawn, and Kenneth C. Johnson, Riverside, R. 1., assignors to General Electric Company, a'corporation ofNew York Application August 30, 1954, Serial No. 452,175

6 Claims. (Cl. 339-47) This invention relates-to electric connectors consisting of two identical members adapted to be secured to the ends of wires or other conductors which are to bejoined electrically. These members are constructed so that they can be pushed together into mutual engagement so=as' to make a good electrical connection which can readily be broken and remade as desired.

The primary purpose of an-electri'c connector is to' furnish a current-carrying joint having as small an-electrical resistance as possible. Resistance at a joint dependson the area and pressure of the-surfaces of the connector members which are'in mutual contact. Sincethe members of a connector aresubject to thermal expansionand contraction, aresilient pressure between the members is de-' sirable. The members of an electric' connector" are'designed so that the mutually contacting faces 'will' press firmly'against each other not only when the'members'are new but also after they have-been. disconnected and reconnected a large numberof times. From the. economic or the commercial point of view,.simplicityof' parts; ease of manufacture and ease of assembling the parts are also desirable features.

According to the present-invention; a completeconnectoris formed of two identical parts or blade members made from a strip'of conductive material. This strip material is doubled-back to form a spring blade with aninterlocking slot formed in the bent-over edge toprovide a bifurcated end for said blade member; One=leg of the spring blade is longer than the other and an aperturei's formed in the long leg just beyond the freeedge of the short leg. A wire or similar conductor is'ad'apted tobe attached to the free end of the long leg of the hl'ade; At the mouth of the slot formed in the leading-edgeof the blade opposed projections are formed so that when the spring blades are thrust together with-the slots interlocked the said projections will engage one. in the said aperture and one behind the free edge of the short leg to provide a positive locking force for the connector.

It should be understood that the above-mentioned locking force is not necessary in all applications; for instance, where, external means are providedfor holding the parts assembled.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an electric connector having identical mating parts of doubled-back spring blade construction.

A further object of this invention is to provide an electric connector with a positive locking means to prevent accidential separation of the mating parts.

A further object of this invention is to provide an electric connector with identical spring blade members having interlocking slots that slip over the flared ends of the blade against the spring action of the blade to make a good electrical connection.

My invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

ice

In the drawing:

Figure l is an assembled'view of the mating parts of an electrical connector embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a partial viewof'th'e assembly'of Figure 1 with the interengaging members being shown in. a separated position.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional. View taken on the. lines 3-3 of'Figure 1;.

Figure4 is'a modified form of theconnector with the mating parts shown in. separated relation;

Figure 5 is an assembled view of the connector of Figure 4.

Figure 6 isa cross-sectional view' taken on the lines 6--6' of Figure 5 Figure 7 is a; perspective view"showing the: use of'the present invention" as an integral part; of an electrical de-' vice such as an automobile" voltage regulator.

Referringin detail to the drawing, Figure 1 shows an electrical connector 10- compri'sing a pair of identical spring blades 11 which are each joined attheir opposite end's'to the insulated Wires 12 by means" of the tongues 13'which are crimped' over" the bare conductor and the tongues 14 which .are crimped over the insulation. of "the wire in a manner whichis. well known in this art; The design of each'springblade is-best'seen'in Figure 2' wherein the blades 11" are madeifrom a. thin; strip of conductive materiaLSuchas'berylliun'r copper. The spring blade I1- is of'd'oubled-over constructioniwith a short leg. 15 and a longer leg 16-which'is'fast'ened at'its free'end' to thewire 1-2; The front portions: of the legs '15 and 16 adjacent the fo'lde'd-overend' of the blade are-flattened to: be in contact with eachother' as at 17'while the rear portions of the legs areflared outwardly as: at 13 to provide a spring'tensioning means. A longitudinally extendingslot 19 is formed in the front'portion of eachzof the: blades and this slot converges inwardl'y' from the'leading" edge of the blade. Rounded projections 20' are formed on theopposedwalls of theslot 1'9at the leadingedgeofthe blade 11 for a purpose which will be explained later. An aperture 21" is located in the: long leg 16 to-bebeyond the free edge 22- of the short leg When the spring blades 11-, as shown in Figure'2, are forcedtogether withthe slots 19 interlocked, the closely spaced projections 20 will rid'e'upon' the flared ends-of the legs 15 and 16 to compress the rear portions of'the legs; The projections2'0'of each ofthe blades. 11 are act: ing against the flared rear portion ofthe opposite spring blade until the projectionssnapoverthe free end 22'- of the short'blade 15 as well as into-theaperture 21 of the long blade 16 in order to provide a positive locking means as'is best shown in Figure 1'.

In Figure 3 a closer'view is presented of the" interengagement of the opposed'projections 20 with the'edge22 of the short leg 15 and the aperture 21 in the. leg 16.

In Figure 4 is shown a modification of'thc'inventiondise closed in Figures l-3. Themaindistinction between the two modifications is that' in Figures 4'6 the positive locking feature has been-eliminated for thereare some applications of the invention where external means are used to lock the spring blades together so that it is not necessary to provide an additional locking means as part of the spring blade construction. The spring blades 11' are formed of the same doubled-over construction, as explained previously, with the short leg 15' and the long leg 16. A longitudinally extending slot 19 having parallel side walls is formed in the flattened front portion 17' of each of the spring blades 11 and the rear portion of the spring blade is flared outwardly as at 18 so that when the spring blades are joined, the flared ends of the legs 15' and 16 are compressed so that each spring blade is strongly held to the other by means of the friction generated by the slots 19 compressing the flared ends of the opposite blade to give a strong frictional and electrical contact between the blades. Since the slots 19' have parallel side walls instead of the converging side walls of the slots 11 of Figure 2, there is a tighter fit between the contacting faces of the blades 11 than in the first modification, which provides a satisfactory locking means for many applications using wire terminal connectors.

Figure 6 is a view substantially the same as Figure 3 that shows the type of gripping action between the two spring blades of the second modification.

Having described my invention of a new and improved electrical connector, it will be appreciated by those skilled in this art that I have first provided an electrical connector comprising identical spring blades which are of doubledback construction having longitudinally extending slots that interlock to compress the spring blades to provide tight interfacial contact between the members. While there are many quick-connect electrical connectors on the market today having a low resistance to the flow of current through the connection, it is a common fault of most of such connectors that they do not provide a satisfactory mechanical connection between the interlocking members of the connector. Another. shortcoming in the prior art is that the connectors have not been made for long life so that they would fail upon extended use. This invention not only improves the electrical and mechanical connection between two conductors but it does so at a minimum cost of manufacture with few tools since the interlocking spring blades are of identical construction.

The mating spring blades of this invention are similar used for blades for attachment plugs which is a highly developed art using the most modern mass production practices. It should be realized that while the present invention has been shown for connecting a pair of wire ends, a similar connection can be made between the terminals of a switch housing, for instance, and the circuit wires controlled by such a switch. The terminal may be an integral part of an interior unit, or it may be an electrical buss connection, or it may be simply a substitute for the commonly used binding head screw connection.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in this art and 'it is to be understood therefore that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed but that it is intended to cover all modifications which are within the true spirit and scope ofthis invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An electrical connector member comprising a onepiece strip of suitable metal having its opposite ends bent over toward each other to form a two-legged spring blade with the rear portions of'the legs flared outwardly with respect to each other to form a spring tensioning means, one of said legs extending beyond the other leg and terminating in a connection for an electrical conductor, the tip of said blade being provided witha longitudinally extending slot so that the blade is bifurcated.

2. An electrical connector member comprising a onepiece strip of conductive material having its opposite ends doubled back to form a two-legged spring blade with the rear portions of the legs flared outwardly with respect to each other to form a spring tensioning means, one of said legs extending beyond the other leg and terminating in an end which is adapted to be crimped over an electrical conductor, the tip of said blade being flattened and formed with a longitudinal slot with rounded projections formed on the opposite walls of said slot at the mouth thereof to serve as a locking means when this connector is interlocked with a similar type connector.

3. An electrical connector member comprising a onepiece strip of conductive material having its opposite ends bent over toward each other to form a two-legged spring blade, one of said legs extending beyond the other and terminating in an end which is adapted to be fixed to an electrical conductor, the tip of said blade being formed with a slot extending longitudinally of the blade, while the opposite end of said blade has flared leg portions which extend outwardly and rearwardly 'of said blade, whereby said connector member is adapted to engage with an identical member to join two electrical conductors.

4. An electrical connector member comprising a onepiece strip of conductive material having its opposite ends bent over toward each other to form a two-legged spring blade, one of said legs extending beyond the other and terminating in an end which is adapted to be fixed to an electrical conductor, the tip of said blade being formed with a longitudinal slot which converges inwardly therefrom, rounded projections formed on the opposite Wall of said slot at the mouth thereof, and an aperture formed in the long leg of the blade just beyond the endof the short leg to serve as a positive locking means for said connector member.

5. In an electrical connector member as recited in claim 4 where said tipof the spring blade is flattened in the vicinity of the said longitudinal slot while the opposite end of the blade comprises flared leg portions which serve as a spring tensioning means for said connector member. 7

6. An electrical connector member comprising a onepiece strip of conductive material having its opposite end doubled back to form a two-legged spring blade, one of said legs extending beyond the other and terminating in a connection for an electrical conductor, the rear portion of the short leg being flared outwardly with respect to the other leg to form a spring tensioning means, the free end of said blade being flattenedand formed with a longitudinal slot so that the blade is bifurcated, the width of said slot being substantially equal to the double thickness of the sheet material from which the blade is formed.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 23,547 Fox Sept. 9, 1952 2,554,876 Olson May'29, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 985,776 France -Q. Mar. 14, 1951 

